Clasp



Feb. 20, 1945. C. A DOMLER 2,369,724

CLASP Filed Jan. l, 1.943

` Mk a7 74 1 both catches iny released position;

Patented Feb. 20, 1945 EDT' STATES PATENT GF'FICE assenze. .A i 1 CLASE I y GharlesA. Domler, P1-ovidence, R. I., assigner to The.- Hadley.' Company, Inc.,y Providencey Rf.' I.; a corporation otfRhode Island. Application January 1, 1943.. Seral'No. 421.031 comms-. (01.1 elf- 241),

i `This.inventionrelatesto.clasps such for exam@ pI'e, fa`s are used in. wrist watch. bracelets neck.- laces; etc... l

' The.. principal objects. of. the.l invention are to .l

provide a clasp. having safety catches.. whichare so 'designed that both must be separately released, but upon the closing. or. fastening, of one. catch the other, is automatically. closed. orv movedtoY locking position; and to. provide a. clasp. otr the aforesaid type which. is of simple. design' and. oi pleasing appearancer whichis. of strong and. durable. construction.. and which isA reliable and et cient in operation.v

Further. objectswill be. apparent from. a: consideration oilthe. iollowing. description: and aceA companying drawng,.wherein,:.

. Fig. 1 is` atop planviewof a in accordance with the presentinventiong.

2. is a.. side elevation. of. the clasp'shown in Eig- 1;.

Fig` 3 is an enlarged; central. longitudinal see.- tion. of. 'the claspV showing. theV slidable catchv in locking position.;

. Fig. 4 is a.A view similar- Fig.. 5 is a section onV lined-5. otFig; 3;

Fig. 6. is.. a. section onthefline 6 6. of Fig, 4; and:`

Fig. 7 isa perspectiveviewnf theslidable catch. The4 embodiment herein shown, comprises;k a clasp |.i11tegral-witha-.coupling member 2 adapted tohold. one end. ofy a bracelet B and. which.- may be.. of.. any. conventional. design; and construction.

and a coupling. member 3l adapted.- to.- hold the other. end of the bracelet, the. couplingr 3. having a loop 4 by means of which it is. detachabhfse.-1 cured to the .clasp- I..

y'The clasp. I. comprises. a. substantialhru hollowbodymemberhaving an top wall- 5. provided.- with alongitudinally extending'slot. [iy (Figs. 3 and. 63.-., and side. walls 8; and: 9y which. divergey beyond the body of the claspvand mergewith thecoupling member 2. The side walls 8 and a are integral withl abottom wall Il); which is slotted to provide anges as shown in Figs. 3 to 5. The outer end of the top wall is cut to provide a pair of spaced ears I2 (Figs. 4 to 6) which are bent downwardly a slight amount to provide `abutments, theutility of which is hereinafter pointed out. The side walls are formed with aligned notches which define a transversely extending recess |5 adjacent. to one end of the body member, the' recess I5 being adapted to receive the loop 4 of coupling 3, as shownv in Figs. 1 and 2. lThe bottom wall I0 is provided with an inwardly projecting iinger I8 (Figs. 3 and 4) which is inclasp. constructed to Fig. but'showing I clined relative to the bottom wall" toward. the re.-

cess Iii.` 1 y 'Ille top., side andr bottomY wallsfvdefine. a slide'-l watr which. receives;v a.. movable catch 211 having a body portion. shapedl'oosely to t withinthe slideway, andhaving s ufli'cientclearance between; its upper. and lower facesontheone hand with the tcp.V and bottom walls of the clasp,v on the. other hand,A topermit a slight rocking orv tilting movement. The catch 20 is formedwi'th an upwardly' projecting head2| which .extends through the. sloty 6 and thishead is shaped' to provide a noseA 22 whichorerhangs theouter end of. theV catch sufliciently tofo'rin a recess .cooperating with the recess. I,5 .to accommodatethe loopA when the catch is inlockingposition, as' shown.. inFigs. 1 to 3.

Thebottom of. thecatch is provided with a longi'f tudinally extending slot 251 (Fig- 4) shaped to accommodate. the upper end voiJa coil compression spring 2E, the lower end of which is seated on or carried by the finger I8. I .Y

. The construction andarrangement of'parts are such.that when. catchelll; isl manually moved against the actionospringl f rornlockingl position (Flei).v inwardly to .released position (Fig. 4l in which the' nose 2.2`is4 substantially clear of therrecess |.5 and the iront lateral edges 218 of. the. catchfare disposed' inwardly ofthe abutments |L2. the. spring 26, actingA upwardly atan angle. is; effectiveA to. tiltor.A rock the. catch so that the edges 2.8..of.i'ts. body portion are. brought into and heldin engagement. with theabutments. I2, as

shown. iny Figs. 4. and.. 6,; and. when the catch 2.0.' has, thus beer1i.cocl ed, vits head. 2| may be depressed s'o. as. to=. disengage. the edges 28.. from abutments., L2... whereupon. the spring becomes eifective; tov slide. the catch outwardly.v to and hold it.. in.y locking position, as. shown in Fig. 3.. The. abutments t2. not.v only cooperate with the side. and` bottom wallato guide. the catch to and from locking` position, but also., cooperate with the spring. ldtofprovide areleasable. lock for holding the. catch in released position; and.v it. will` be further observed that when in the latter position the head 2| extends upwardly from the top wall 5 a distance slightly greater than it does when in locking position.

The end of the body member adjacent to the recess I5 is provided with a transversely extending pintle 3|] which supports a second catch or locking lever 3l for pivotal movement toward and which the catch may be pried outwardly from closed position, thus permitting the catch to be swung to open position, as shown by the full lines of Fig. 4. l

When both catches are in open position (Fig.

4) the loop 4 may be dropped over the pivotal` catch 3| directly into the recess I5, and then the catch 3| may be swung to closed position, whereupon the slidable catch 2l) is automatically moved.'

to locking position as shown'in Fig. 3. When the parts are in closed position the finger 314 is effective to hold the pivotal catch closed and the spring 2B is likewise effective to hold the slidable catch in closed position. In order to release the catches, it is merely necessary to swing the pivotal catch 3| to upright position and then slide the catch 20 inwardly to released position, whereupon the spring 28 becomes effective to tilt it upwardly into engagement with the abutments I2, as above explained.

While I have shown and described one desirable embodiment of the invention, it .is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration, and that various changes in shape, proportion and arrangement of parts,

as Well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A safety clasp comprising a body member having side and bottom Walls defining a slideway and an inwardly projecting part forming a fixed abutment, the side walls having aligned recessed portions adjacent to one end to provide an opening for removably receiving a loop-like coupling member, a catch loosely mounted in said slideway and movable therein from a lockingr position, wherein the coupling member is held within said recess, to a released position, wherein the coupling member may be removed from said recess, said catch being formed With a shoulder engageable with said abutment so that when the catch is moved to released position it may be tipped so as to bring said shoulder into engagement with said abutment, and resilient means acting on said catch at such an angle that when said catch is in released position, said resilient means operates to tip it to a position wherein said'shoulder is brought into and held in engagement with said abutment, said resilient means being operative when said shoulder is disengaged from said `held within said recess, to a released position,

wherein the coupling member may be removed from said recess, said catch being formed with a shoulder engageable with said abutment so that when the catch is moved to released position it may be tipped so as to bring said shoulder into engagement with said abutment, resilient means acting on said catch at such an angle that when said catch is in released position, said resilient means operates to tip it to a position wherein said shoulder is brought into and held in engagement with said abutment, said resilient means being operative when said shoulder is disengaged from said `abutment to move said catch to and hold it in locking position, and a second catch mounted on said body member to move toward and away from said recessed portion, said second catch being engageable .with the rst catch when the latter is in released position to effect disengagement of said shoulder with said abutment and thereby permit said resilient means to move the rst catch to locking position.

3. A clasp comprising a body member having v side and bottom Walls dening a slideway and an inwardly extending ear forming a Xed abutment between the ends of said body member, the side walls having recess portions adjacent to one end for removably receiving a coupling member and the bottom wall having an upwardly extending nger spaced inwardly from and inclined toward said recess, a catch loosely mounted in said slideway and formed with a shoulder engageable with said abutment, said catch being movable from locking position, wherein the catch 1s held within said recess, to a released position, wherein the catch may be tipped to a position wherein said shoulder is held in engagement with said abutment, a coil spring carried by said n ger and acting on said catch when in released position to tip it to a position wherein said shoulder is held in engagement with said abutment, said spring being operative when said shoulder E disengaged from saidv abutment tomove said catch to and hold it in locking position, and a second catch pivotally mounted on said body member to swing toward and away from said recess so as to engage and depress the iirst catch when in released position, thereby to eiTect disengagement of said shoulder with said abutment and permit said spring to move said rst catch to locking position. f

CHARLES A. DOMLER. 

